Do you have any idea how long I’ve been secretly dreaming that someone would say to me, “You’re so awesome, you should rule the world!”

A long time, that’s how long.

And it’s finally happened. Yes, someone has officially recognised my value to the world and the people in it. I shall be taking up my mantle as Executive World Emperor as soon as the current world leaders can be gathered in one place and summarily dismissed from their seats of power. Also, as soon as someone gathers all the riches of the world and places them in my secret lair base. From this day forth, you will need to use my full title (or its acronym) if you wish to talk to me. As such, I will expect all comments to begin: Hey EWE.

Hold on a minute.

Oh.

Apparently I’m a little confused. I haven’t actually been granted world domination. I’ve actually been awarded the Dr Horrible Blog Award by the infamous Connor Rickett of Cities of the Mind.

Right. Ha ha ha. I knew that. So, nothing to see here. Let’s just move on to the rules and pretend this embarrassing little episode never happened.

1. Thank the person who nominated you for the Dr. Horrible Blog Award.

Thanks, Connor! Connor’s blog is full of interesting articles on writing, travelling, and freelance writing as well as blog reviews (you can also request a review of your own blog!) and short fiction. It’s well worth your time to give him a visit.

2. Announce the Big News on your blog.

And my Big News is… Well, for one thing it seems that I won’t be the Executive World Emperor any time soon. It’s a good job I’m happy just being me, because it looks like I won’t be EWE any time soon.

But in all some seriousness, this step of accepting the award was a little… let’s say… terrifying. I actually need News of some kind. Preferably Big News. With capitals.

While I was trying to work out what my news could be, I happened across a great blog post by one Patrick O’Duffy. He talks about the importance of leaving actual book reviews on sites like Goodreads and Amazon rather than just star ratings. I’m not going to summarise his entire post because, well, firstly that’s rude. And secondly, I’d rather you go and read it straight from the horse’s mouth… or whatever the internet-equivalent is of that idiom. But I’ll give you a brief snippet:

Without a review, good or bad, to explain the [star] rating it’s all just statistical noise. Reviews, on the other hand, tell you a great deal, whether you agree with them or not – and sometimes the ones you don’t agree with tell you the most. …read more…

Reading this article made me realise something. Firstly, I don’t just leave star ratings on those sites. (Yay for me!) Secondly, I don’t leave reviews anywhere at all. (Boo for me.) BUT, I was writing reviews that I was posting here on my blog, and they could easily be copied over to Goodreads. And since I’ve decided not to keep posting book reviews here, I can write them on Goodreads and provide a link from my blog for those people who are interested.

So, here’s my Big News:

I’ve set up a new page to track the books I read this year, complete with links to my reviews on Goodreads. You can find the page here, or by clicking the cunningly titled ‘2012 Reading List’ tab at the top of the page.

And since I was playing with the layout anyway, I’ve also set up a page that links to all the Flash Fiction I’ve posted here on my blog. If you think you may have missed some, or you’d like to go back and re-read my work, you can click here or go to the tab labelled ‘Flash Fiction’. Complicated, no?

Right. Back to the award.

3. Answer these mini-interview questions:

a) If you ran the world, what would you outlaw immediately?

Stupidity.

Oh. I’ve just been informed that the only way to completely wipe out stupidity is to destroy the human race. Apparently it’s endemic. Or something. So, in the spirit of not being a world-destroying evil dictator, I will instead outlaw Reality TV.

b) Men: Boxers or Briefs? Ladies: Do you prefer Boxers or Briefs?

I found this question a little discriminatory, so choose not to answer it. Where’s the option for going commando??

c) If you won the Nobel Prize who would you thank?

(Yes, Connor, I’m totally rewriting this question in 3rd person. Because having it written in 1st person is… disturbing.)

If I won the Nobel Prize, I’d first wonder what I did to deserve it. Then I’d stop wondering and just accept that I clearly won the Nobel Awesome Prize for being Awesome. So I’d thank the academy, and the other competitors, and my husband, and then I’d make room for Kanye.

4. Nominate three bloggers so they can carry the Dr. Horrible torch on its way.

Right, so I tried to come up with three people who I thought would have interesting or amusing answers to the questions. Which is not to say that no one else will, just that… Oh, you know what I mean. So, my three nominees (in no particular order) are:

speaker7 of Ramblings and Rumblings. She’s quirky, snarky, and just plan funny. And her hilarious breakdown of 50 Shades (complete with photos re-enacting key scenes of the book using toys) is a must-read.

Heather of Prawn and Quartered. She reads, she writes, she works in a library, and she’s a fan of The A-Team. Her posts are a great mix of retro cool, hilarity, and touching solemnity. In other words: awesomesauce.

Emma of Mayfair Mum. She juggles reading, writing, working and motherhood with the same sense of ease I do — which is to say, not a heck of a lot sometimes. She’s funny and sweet and just a little bit geeky. Oh, and she’s from London so she’s got a great accent.

About the Author

Jo Eberhardt is a writer of speculative fiction, mother to two adorable boys, and lover of words and stories. She lives in rural Queensland, Australia, and spends her non-writing time worrying that the neighbour's cows will one day succeed in sneaking into her yard and eating everything in her vegie garden.

Join her as she blogs about reading, writing, motherhood, and living the simple life.